INTERESTING BITS: Women Are Making the Best Rock Music Today — Bands That Prove It

Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail

Where, exactly, have the guitars gone? Sure, there’s never been a shortage of traditional rock bands — say, a mostly male, mostly white four-piece. But in the face of increasingly diverse musical tactics, their cultural impact is beginning to wane. Many indie-rock groups have started to feel rote or even parodic, as if they’ve run out of ideas or exhausted the passion to develop new ones.

But a new generation of female and non-binary performers — punk in style or spirit, coming from the all-ages warehouse and D.I.Y.-venue ecosystem — is taking their place.

These singers and musicians, working just below the mainstream, are making music about tactile emotion, rousing politics and far more. To take stock of this vibrant moment, and to spotlight these artists’ work, we spoke with them about why they make the music they do, and what obstacles the industry, and society at large, have thrown in their paths.

Turn on your sound to hear 25 bands that prove women are making the best rock music today — then listen to an extended playlist of standout songs from 25 more.

● Lindsey Jordan, still a teenager, pours her soul into resolutely unhurried songs for Snail Mail, a sinewy trio of guitar, bass and drums.

“I think when people see me onstage they tend to assume I’m cold or bitchy, because I stay pretty serious when I play music.”